Cousins

Cousin Winky came and spent the night with us for the first time! Luke LOVES his big cousin - just stares at her in amazement. They chased each other with light sabers, crawled all through Luke's playhut, pushed each other around in the wagon, and on and on.

I don't think there's anything cuter than pics of cousins taking a bath - I know I have some from my childhood, my mom has some from her childhood...

PROCRASTINATOR

Luke is a great procrastinator when it comes to bed time... he has learned that running and sitting in Daddy's lap is a great way to get a few more minutes before going to bed. Or he'll decide right when he senses it's time to go to his room that he is STARVING and must have a snack. And I am now prepared each night to hear "need go potty" or "need water" or "need tissue" as he is laying down.

FUNNY HABITS

What is up with Luke chewing his food, spitting it out to inspect it, then putting it back into his mouth?

He LOVES to answer the phone - he'll get on another phone and talk and talk and talk, completely obliterating any other party on the line. Or he'll exactly repeat what I'm saying.

More Disneyland Pics

Riding the train - one of Luke's FAVORITE activities!!



Click to zoom in on this one - it's adorable!

We're Home zzzzzzzzzzzz

Disneyland - Pop (Chuck), me/Luke, Julie, Erin, Mema (Karen), Steve...

Cheesy one with us "holding" Tinkerbell...

Luke had NO interest in posing with Donald or Mickey...

Whew. Glad to be home again!!! We need a vacation from our vacation.

Lots more pics to post, but will do that another day. Just a few stories to share...

DISNEYLAND
Disneyland was FANTASTIC - couldn't have had a better time. Luke loved everything, especially the train and the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride and the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Took a great nap back at the hotel, then went at it again in the afternoon. Both nights we watched fireworks from our room - he didn't like the noise, but really enjoyed them in the safety of the room.

PRAYERS
Last night while waiting to be seated at a restaurant, Luke was getting tired and told me "night night" then clasped his hands together and started saying prayers which went something like this: "God bless mommy and daddy and mickey and donald and goofy and pluto....". LOL!!

FLYING HOME
Again, no nap. But Luke was extremely well behaved. As we were descending, he kept asking if we were going to go through a tunnel.

So far, he has really impressed me with his detailed memory of Disneyland - he recaps all his favorite rides and characters over and over again. I don't know if he'll remember it long term, but Steve and I certainly will!

More Beach Fun

Mommy and Daddy snuck off to Solvang for their anniversary and left Luke in the care of MeMa, Grandma, and Erin...

California Ventura Harbor

California Poolside

Played all afternoon at the Mandalay pool...

Erin, Luke, and Mommy rode a surrey....

California Beach

Ready for the beach!
Enjoying a tunnel in the park...
Fun beach tools brought by Sandy and John...
Luke loved running back and forth to get water for the sand blob and moat...

We also brought a kite, but Luke wasn't as impressed with it flying easily at the beach - he much prefers to watch Mommy run down the street trying to get it up in the air!

California day 2

Grandpa...
Grandma...
Mommy...
Daddy...

California day 1

We've been talking about this trip for weeks. We'd ask Luke where he was going and he'd say "airplane waaaaay up in the sky!" and who was he going to see "Mickey Mouse!"


Non-stop flight Austin to L.A. (brilliant)
Fly during naptime (genius)
Let the little guy share Daddy's and MeMa's Starbucks right before taking off so he's wired and won't take a nap (not such a great idea) - finally resorted to bribery with a lollipop to keep him happy towards the end....

The first time we flew to CA, we got the cutest picture of Luke in the cockpit. This time, he wasn't so sure about it....

Lunch at Gladstone's....

Dinner at our favorite German food restaurant.... with Mommy, Daddy, MeMa, Uncle John, Aunt Sandy, Cousin Chris, Cousin Erin, Grandma & Grandpa Grote....

Our condo is by a beautiful beach which also has an awesome park...

Lots going on!

I've been remiss in blogging lately. Too much going on!! Luke has been in "summer school" which is actually in his same classroom with many of the same activities, plus lots of water play.

Coloring with Anna and Morgan:

He's so good about putting away his materials (even at Sunday school):

Last Friday they had an inflatable bouncy which he LOVED:
Time for a rest:

Lunch:

Oh, and last week Luke went # 2 in the potty at school for the first time (thankfully he doesn't care about me telling all his embarassing news!!)

Last night, Daddy and I took Luke BOWLING!!! It was an absolute hoot! Luke did NOT want to use the ramp for little kids, did NOT want to push the ball from a still position... he wanted to run up to the line and THROW the ball on the ground just like everyone else. I had to hold onto his shirt so he wouldn't go soaring down the lane himself. He even managed to score a legitimate strike!! Afterwards, had some yummy sweet potato fries. Mmmmm.

This Friday we're off to California for a fun fun FUN vacation! Should have lots of pics and stories when we get back. :)